KEY POINTS:
It took the Blues all of three minutes to expose the Lions as top-table impostors and 70 minutes to secure Doug Howlett a place in Super rugby history.
The All Black wing's second try late in the game was his 57th and brought him level with the great
Joe Roff as the competition's all time top scorer. If there is a rugby god, he will make sure the 28-year-old breaks the record as he's playing as well as ever.
"I knew it was coming for a wee while," said Howlett. "I have got to recognise those players up there as well - Joe Roff and Christian Cullen. They are fantastic players and to be grouped with them is an honour. I also have to recognise the special teams I have been involved with in the years gone by."
Howlett's second score also confirmed what the Lions knew after just five minutes - that they shouldn't have bothered turning up.
The Lions certainly wished Nick Williams hadn't turned up for his first appearance of the season.
Williams spent the first five weeks hiding under a rock, obviously being fed little and subjected to mild abuse, judging by the fiery impact he made from the back of the scrum.
The big Harbour No 8 dipped his head when he first clutched the leat-her, drove over the top of the woolly-headed Cobus Grobler, kept pumping his massive pistons and with a little help from his friends was almost under the sticks. David Holwell finished things off and two minutes later Rudi Wulf was over in the corner and the Blues never looked back.
Defeat was just never going to happen - not on Holwell's watch.
Northland's finest has been praised for all the work he has done behind the scenes. But as warm and fuzzy as that no doubt made him feel, a man of Holwell's experience knows rugby's biggest highs are on the pitch.
He was a classic mix of trickery and stability last night and his fellow backs loved running off the old timer. They were probably quite delighted, too, that they were running against a defensive screen barely holding together and let down by some old-fashioned pansy tackling. And unfortunately for the Lions, Eden Park is not the place to start questioning your commitment to the jersey.
These Blues can sniff fear and with two early tries stoking their confidence, they saw the chance to let rip.
The forwards didn't really have to spend too much time ruling their manor. The Lions accepted the hosts were the governors and didn't try too hard to challenge that authority.
With the forwards on the front foot, the Blues backs ran the show as they liked. There was some seriously enterprising football at times, with some of the build up to Ben Atiga's bonus-point try quite exquisite.
Only a few minutes earlier, some slick handling had set Howlett free to score his first. Even though he went on to clinch the record-equalling second score, that was not the highlight of Howlett's evening. He'd got himself tangled with Lions fullback Earl Rose late in the first half and it was a typical sort of backs' affair with lots of dancing and not much sorting out of things. Until, that is, Rose appeared to head-butt the Aucklander.
Revenge came for Howlett after 53 minutes when he emptied Rose in a stunning tackle that saw the South African go from vertical to horizontal quicker than a guest in a tart's boudoir.
Isaia Toeava was another who relished the space and the 20-year-old is making a compelling case for an All Black recall. While his former team-mates spent the early part of the summer romping through France, England and Wales, Toeava was back in Auckland rebuilding his confidence and pumping a crazy amount of iron.
All that work enabled him to start the season at 100kg and his explosive power was on show in the build up to Wulf's try when he brushed off Jaque Fourie, a beast himself, with one casual thrust of his right arm.
And, yet, for all the flowing rugby, enterprise and control the Blues exerted, there was still a bad taste in the mouth of coach David Nucifora at the final whistle: "We are still not at the level of maturity we would like, otherwise we would have put them away."
It was a statement made in the knowledge that no matter whether they are Lions or Cats, the team the Blues faced last night were still pussies.
Blues 41 (D. Holwell, R. Wulf, D. Howlett (2), B. Atiga, D. Braid tries; D. Holwell 4 cons, pen) Lions 14 (L. Ludik, E. Reynecke tries; A. Pretorius con; E. Rose con)
